AP Enterprise: Rushed bills compromise disclosure

He said Republicans are not thinking of the public in trying to require a 24-hour waiting period. Instead, Calderon said they would only use that time to gin up opposition and punish lawmakers who approve good but politically risky policies.

"A 24-hour reading period often gets used for mischief," said Calderon, the longest-serving lawmaker in the Capitol. "Democrats are the majority party, and they have the responsibility to vote for things sometimes that are not popular with the public."

Jeffries' proposal, ACA1, would require lawmakers to give three-days' notice before taking up any legislation and make bills public at least 24 hours before voting. A related measure, ACA2, would ban late-night legislative sessions except in cases of natural disaster.

Republican minority leaders in both houses support mandatory consideration periods. In March, Republicans orchestrated a protest of a parliamentary gimmick that allows lawmakers to introduce shell bills that will be used later in the year for budget provisions and other matters.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, defended the practice of developing some budget bills at the last minute. He said lawmakers sometimes need to take quick action to prevent interest groups from mobilizing to defeat legislation they oppose.

Democrats also say Republicans are still angry about the passage of Proposition 25 in 2010, which largely made them irrelevant to the budget process by reducing the legislative vote requirement for budgets from two-thirds to a simple majority.

A few other states have passed constitutionally-mandated reading periods for all bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Hawaii, the Legislature must make bills available in their final form for at least 48 hours before voting. Michigan prohibits lawmakers from voting on bills that have not been public for at least five days. And in Florida, lawmakers must give the public 72 hours to consider all general appropriation bills.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he supports the concept of requiring more time for lawmakers to consider bills, saying it would allow for more thoughtful consideration of last-minute amendments. He declined to comment on Jeffries' bill.

Policy experts and good government groups have long called for these kinds of transparency measures. Like Jeffries, they argue that bills that cannot withstand a day of debate should not be made law.

The bipartisan group California Forward has gathered more than half the signatures it needs to place a 72-hour reading period for bills on the November ballot, said the group's executive director, Jim Mayer. He said lawmakers are unlikely to pass such a measure on their own.

"Many of them know that it's good policy, but it would make their lives harder," he said.